Vegetable prices fall in India with potatoes dropping by 44%

Inflation in India, based on the wholesale price index, (WPI) slipped to a five-month low of 2.17 per cent in May as food inflation turned negative and prices of manufactured items rose at their weakest pace in the past five months.

The May figures for the WPI represent the second instance that wholesale inflation is being calculated according to the new series with the updated base year of 2011-12, which was released last month.

Subsequently, prices of important crops like potato, vegetable, pulses, and onions have seen steep drops. Potato prices fell by a massive 44 per cent while pulses and vegetables saw prices falling by more than 19 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.

The steep drop in prices can be tied to the growing farmers' agitation movements across large parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where farmers have complained of incomes crashing due to the fall in prices of their crops.